My brother and I drove up from Maryland to watch the game Friday night. Couple thoughts/responses to what others have said...
1. Regardless of what any reports said, it's not possible to put on 15lbs of lean muscle in a few months. That said, I think Fred probably has gotten stronger because he knows his role and will be the guy on short yardage situations and will be fine. He doesn't seem to move laterally as well as he used to, but we have yet to see how he does once he reaches the secondary. I have a feeling he still looks like Freddie once he gets going.
2. Happy trails Kelvin. Welcome to Buffalo, Jerry Hughes! It seems Pettine is getting the most out of Hughes. Looking forward to seeing if he continues this success into the season.
3. The first team defense looked great! The highest compliment you can pay to a DB is not mentioning them during the game, and that's what's going on with Gilmore. Great player. D-line looked dominant even without Mario. Hoping Brooks starts showing more consistency. He could be very good. He is a monster on special teams but has had some poor play in coverage.
4. Searcy has not impressed me, so I'm hoping Aaron Williams steps up. Meeks looked terrible.
5. Kolb will be better than this first start. However, he is pretty much the same player as Fitz. If he ends up starting this season, he won't win games, but if our defense continues to play this well and if he can limit the mistakes, we could be alright (a lot of 'ifs' I know...)
6. I'm really hoping EJ comes back asap. He's our guy. He looks the part and has been playing well. Granted it's only the preseason, but he has only improved throughout camp and preseason.
7. One thing I noticed about the offense with EJ: There was a drive (EJ's second drive I think?) where we had three offensive penalties. Last year if we had a few penalties on offense, all hope seemed to be lost. Not anymore. The offense kept charging ahead and I'm pretty sure that was EJ's TD drive.
8. Woods doesn't look like a punt returner to me. He had a very nice return on Friday, but I'd rather see McKelvin back there. He's a pro receiver though.
9. Hogan continues to make the most of his time out there. Really hoping Da'Rick makes the team. He has all the physical talent to be a great player. So what if he's immature. I think it will prove to be worth the patience with him.
10. Choice looked very good. The other two RBs looked ok but nothing to be too excited about.
11. Special Teams looks great! I took a leap of faith and took the Bills D/ST in fantasy football.
12. Can't wait for the season! Going into it with no expectations, but a lot of optimism. GO BILLS!